The California National Organization of Women (NOW) will converge in San Diego next week for its annual membership meeting/state conference. About 400 people from around the state are expected to attend the conference to discuss how NOW will continue working toward the equality of all women, the organization’s objective since its formation in 1966.

The theme of the upcoming conference, the weekend of April 20-22, is “Crossing Borders: Examining the Walls We Build Around Ourselves.”

“Out of these conferences, we come up with a national plan about the issues that are important to the state and to the women’s movement,” said Olga Vives, NOW’s national vice president. “This year’s conference is about diversity and coalition building in the movement. The conference theme is not only about crossing the border territorially surrounding immigration, but it is also about crossing the border amongst movements. It’s about how we make a more effective movement together rather than separately.”

Vives explained that while NOW is essentially a women’s rights organization, it is also very involved in promoting GLBT issues. “Our work on GLBT issues is essential because we see this as one more obstacle that women have when facing discrimination in this country, and we fight against it.”

The “out and proud” lesbian is going to be the featured guest speaker at the conference on Saturday, April 21. “I will be speaking about whether we are a movement on the progressive side or a series of movements, and the need for us to band together on the issues and not just trying to do things on our own,” she said.

According to the feminist rights leader, the organization has six priorities: advancing reproductive freedom; promoting diversity and ending racism; stopping violence against women; winning lesbian rights; achieving constitutional equality; and ensuring economic justice.

At the 2006 NOW Conference in Albany, N.Y., the resolution “Call for Fair Immigration Reform Legislation” was passed, asking that NOW work at chapter, state and national levels to mount an educational and advocacy campaign to emphasize the humanity of immigrant families and workers.

“The issues before us today have to do with individual rights, civil liberties, the issues affecting women and GLBT people, as well as how immigration reform and all of these things are interconnected when we talk about oppression,” she explained, noting that she will be addressing issues of immigration during workshops “because it is a women’s issue.”

Vives will also be facilitating the workshop “Immigration is a Feminist Issue,” where she will discuss how women and children are disproportionately affected by immigration policies. “The discussion will focus on what’s needed in fair immigration reform. Half of the undocumented people in the United States are women and children, so we feel that we have a position to tackle this and an obligation to do so, but there will be much more than just these topics covered.”

Workshops will cover issues and topics such as reproductive justice, marriage equality, building GLBT families, body image and the transgender community, immigration as a feminist issue and women in the sex industry.

City councilmember Donna Frye will be facilitating a workshop on feminist values in politics, and will join other workshop facilitators like National Farm Workers Association co-founder Dolores Huerta, California Board of Equalization member Judy Chu, and the lesbian-activist and comedian Robin Tyler.

According to conference organizers, there will likely be much talk about the organization’s recent endorsement of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.

“At this time in our history, this country needs strong, experienced and principled leadership to restore faith in our government and repair its credibility at home and abroad, and to end the destructive policies that have eroded our civil liberties and increased injustice and inequality in our society,” stated NOW’s Political Action Committee chair Kim Gandy, in the organization’s endorsement. “Clinton is just such a leader. She has a long history of support for women’s empowerment, and her public record is a testimony to her leadership on issues important to women in the U.S. and around the globe.”

The organization made an endorsement in the primary, which, according to Vives, is very unusual for NOW to do. She said that organization leaders wanted to take the opportunity to promote Clinton’s candidacy to the fullest.

“There is only one candidate who has been a leader and advocate for women. We’ve worked with Clinton for many years, ever since she was in Arkansas, when she was First Lady and since she’s been in the Senate. She’s been very supportive on our issues and we stand behind her.” Vives said.

This San Diego conference is also an election conference for members of the organization who are running for executive office of the California Chapter of NOW.

“We are very excited about the upcoming conference and having women from across the state meet here in San Diego,” said local GLBT activist Gloria Johnson, a NOW member for the past 30 years.

Johnson is a candidate for vice president of the NOW California State Chapter of Political Action Committee (PAC), which does candidate training and organizes political campaigns.

“This is a historical time for the movement and for this conference because, while NOW has endorsed females before, and they were all great women, Clinton has a very strong chance of making it. On top of that, she is terrific on all of NOW’s issues including marriage equality,” Johnson said.

While the conference is a voting conference on resolutions and policies, organizers stress that everyone, including men, is welcome. “These workshops are open to the public and participants get to meet a lot of people who are very knowledgeable on issues that are facing women across the country,” Johnson said.

On Saturday, April 21, the feminist group will hit the streets of Hillcrest for “Feminist Night Out in Hillcrest,” a social mixer at Baja Betty’s. The event will be sponsored by The Center’s Marriage Equality Project, and anyone interested in learning more about the organization and the feminist movement is welcome to attend. For more information about “Feminist Night Out in Hillcrest,” e-mail The Center’s Marriage Equality Project coordinator Kristi Shaw at kshaw@thecentersd.org.

The 2007 California NOW annual membership meeting/state conference will take place at the Bayside Holiday Inn in Point Loma. For more information about the conference, call the San Diego County Chapter of NOW at 619-238-1834 or visit www.canow.org.